Inside the City 9 April 2021 Edition

Inside the City of Tumwater Date: April 9, 2021 To:

Mayor Pete Kmet

City Councilmembers City Employees

From: John Doan, City Administrator

PEOPLE

Chris Carlson Moving to the Other Side of the Counter

After 30 years with the City of Tumwater, Chris Carlson is leaving us. He will be moving to the

private sector to work at Hatton Godat Pantier. Chris has been an incredible part of implementing the

vision and creating the urban form of Tumwater. We

Riding Off to Ellensburg Assistant

City

Administrator

wish him well on his journey and suspect we will still Heidi

Behrends

Cerniwey will be leaving mid-May for the City

Manager job with the City of Ellensburg. This is an

exciting opportunity for her but a big loss of us.

Heidi started with Tumwater in 2012 as a Communications

and

Marketing

Specialist,

eventually taking on assignments around brewery

redevelopment, Administrative Services, and then

serving as Assistant City Administrator. There will be

a Zoom party to see her off in the near future.

see him around town.

Angela Jefferson Appointed to Council The

City

Council

has

appointed

Planning

Commissioner and former Historic Commissioner

Angela Jefferson to vacant Position No. 2 on the City

Council. Councilmember Jefferson’s career has been primarily in human resources in the private sector

and while serving in the US Army. She plans to stand for re-election in the fall. The position was formerly held by Tom Oliva.

Monica Harding Moving to Accountant Jim Floyd Retiring After 28 Years

Firefighter/Paramedic James Floyd has seen lots of

changes since he started with Tumwater 28 years ago. With an employee number of less than 100,

more than 1,000 employees have come after him.

Thank you Jim for the years of service to our

community and those in need of help. You’ve served them well and we wish you the best!

Monica Harding is moving to the Accounting position in the Finance Department. She will go

from supervising the utility billing to being involved

in the management of accounts, transfers, deposits,

debt, reconciliations, and other work that keeps us in good financial shape. Monica joined the City in

2014 as an Accounting Assistant and became

accounting/utility supervisor in 2016. Congrats, Monica!

Project Manager Joins City Team

Don Carney comes to the new Construction Project

Manager Position from Lewis County Public Works

where he managed construction projects. Prior to

that, he was with the City of Lakewood. He has a

Our City Wellness Committee is working to help all

of us be healthier and save the City money. They

work all year to find ways to promote healthy

working and living. The savings in our AWC

healthcare premium is awesome, but helping us be

degree in Civil Engineering from Saint Martins.

healthier is even better! Thank you so much to the

from capital projects, including the Metropolitan

Petterson, Cathy Nielsen, Jeremiah Goodman,

Welcome, Don! This position is new and is funded Parks District.

Sharleen Johansen Joins City Attorney’s Office

Sharleen has over 20 years of experience as a paralegal, mostly working in family law. She is excited to be bringing that experience to municipal law and keeping things going in the City Attorney’s Office. She has a son at Tumwater High School who is participating in Running Start. Welcome, Sharleen!

Eric Thompson Joining Golf is Super!

Superintendent that is. Eric currently works for Simplot Partners in sales and consulting. (They are a division of the giant food company that makes products for turf and horticulture.) In that role he worked with golf courses, parks departments and school districts. Eric was also the superintendent at the Fircrest Golf Club for 10 years. He has a degree in business administration and turf management certification. Eric is filling the position that Dwane Ehrich previous had. (Eric actually worked for Dwane once at the Alderbrook Golf Course.) Welcome, Eric!

existing members: Juli McGarva, Tameka Brice, Tami Marisa Worden, and Brandon Hicks. The newest

member is Georgianna Strobin. If you are interested in joining, please speak with your supervisor. We are

always looking for representatives from the Fire,

Police and Transportation & Engineering, and Water Resources & Sustainability Departments.

EVENTS City Makes CDBG Funds Available

Every third year, the City receives about $1M in

federal funds through the Community Development

Block Grant Program. The funds are targeted to low

income people for either facilities or services.

Although the City awards the money, the County

actually manages the grants. This year, we received

$1,585,000 in applications for the $982,440 in funds.

The City Council will be making a decision regarding the award of the funds at their April 27 meeting.

PLACES Most City Facilities Re-Starting April 13th

On Tuesday, April 13, City Hall will be returning to

the limited public hours that we implemented last summer 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday-Thursday. This is

not a return of all staff back to City Hall. Teleworking

is still encouraged. Departments should have the

minimum necessary to do the work and serve the

Thank You Wellness Committee

The City is again recognized with a Well City Award,

joining 104 other AWC trust members who have

met the standards for the Award – and 2% savings on our health insurance premiums. Thank you to everyone who helped make that happen!

public. Appointments are still an option for

customers outside of those hours and online

services are still encouraged. Although it is great to

see so many people getting vaccines, it doesn’t take

away the requirements for safety precautions. Sign-

in at City Hall is still required, along with physical distancing, hand washing, and masks.

Development Review Committee

The Development Review Committee is looking at a

parking lot upgrade at 2733 Crites St. SW in the Mottman Industrial Park and a proposed Single

Family Residences at 416 Bates St. SW and at 230

Ruby Street SE. They are doing Preliminary Review of an 11,000 s.f. building for Corrpac at 2501 21st

Avenue SW and a 41,500 s.f. metal warehouse/office

building at 8010 River Dr. SE. for Kaufman Construction.

Permits and Planning

With the resignation of Chris Carlson, Permit

Manager, Planning Manager Brad Medrud has been temporarily reassigned to permit review duties to

cope with a very heavy permit load. Until a new

Permit Manager is hired, Suresh Bhagavan will be returning to assist with current permit review for a

few months. Welcome back, Suresh. Some long

range tasks, including the Habitat Conservation Plan

and Regional Housing Council support will be transferred to Community Development Director Mike Matlock. Other tasks such as the 2021

comprehensive plan amendments and housing

affordability regulatory amendments will be placed

on hold. After recruiting and filling the Permit

Manager position, duties will be reconfigured again

and on hold projects can resume.

Brewery Park Has Reopened

The Olympia Tumwater Foundation has re-opened

Brewery Park and Tumwater Falls. Having been

closed through much of the pandemic, the Park now has

several

new

features.

The

Washington

Department of Fish and Wildlife has completed the

new catchment facility that has improved the ability

to watch the fish. The City has also completed the

latest segment of the Deschutes Valley Trail from

Historical Park into the Foundation’s Park. This new

segment follows the old alignment of the narrow

gauge railroad. The project was funded with a

federal grant and local impact fees. Thank you the

Public Works for the management of this exciting trail segment.

INSIDE THE CITY Illustrating our Mission, Vision, or Beliefs in Action.

As you can tell from the PEOPLE section of this newsletter, there are lots of changes and people are coming and going. Some are retiring and creating opportunities for new co-workers to join us. Others are seeking new opportunities that challenge their skills. New people are joining us to seek new challenges and opportunities. New opportunities are driving some to seek promotions.

When people leave us, don’t forget to say good bye.

Even a quick email, an e-card, or a personal message of support is a great way to share your sentiments.

We spend a lot of time together, and it is important to say “good bye.”

Just as important is welcoming the new person. When we can, invite them to lunch. Drop by their work space, stop by their truck, or meet at the breakroom to welcome them and learn about them. Everyone likes to tell their story and share it with their coworkers. I’ve had the privilege to meet every new city employee since 2010. One of my favorite things is to learn peoples’ personal stories and what brought them to Tumwater. Try and learn our fellow employees’ stories. They are pretty cool. Who is the gunsmith? Who is from Australia? Who was a Marine? Who grew up in New Jersey? Who has a Ph.D.?

In addition to getting to know our new employees – include them and stay connected. Say “HI” when you see them. Even if you don’t have time at the moment to learn about them, say “hello” and ask “how’s your day?” Welcoming the new people is so important to their success and the success of the City.

Thank you.